Modernizing the Federal Statistical System¹

The goal of this ASA project is to empower the federal statistical system (FSS), which is the backbone of the nation’s data infrastructure, to meet 21st century needs and opportunities for cost-effective, relevant, timely, and granular data. The focus is on reducing barriers that currently impede FSS innovation and modernization. To that end, the project team is developing recommendations for actions applicable during the current policy environment and after.

The project’s steering group includes Bill Beach, Erica Groshen, Nancy Potok, Shelly Martinez, Jen Park, Steve Pierson, and Michelle Crosby, with Connie Citro serving as a consultant. Since spring 2025, the group has hosted three virtual meetings, participated in meetings of other groups working to improve federal statistics, met one-on-one with many statistical and policy leaders, and reviewed recommendations from prior commissions and working groups. With this extensive input, the team is drafting a short report with a roadmap of phased actions. The expected release date for the report is the end of February 2026.

The project is seeking funding for a second phase to vet its roadmap more widely, modify it as appropriate, and build support for action based on the roadmap’s recommendations. This work is in the tradition of ASA’s long involvement, dating to its founding in 1839, in helping build the strongest federal statistical system possible.

Meetings and Other Input

The project held its first meeting on June 24, 2025, with a small number of attendees (listed here) who are deeply invested in the production and use of federal statistics. As a courtesy, invitees to this and other project meetings did not include current federal staff. The objective was to consider ways in which legislative, regulatory, and, perhaps, structural changes might facilitate a more efficient and effective FSS. A document prepared in advance of the June 24 meeting is available here. A high-level summary of the meeting is available here.

The project held its second meeting on August 19th, the participant list for which is available here. The objective of this second meeting was to identify data user needs and their relationship to a modern, user-driven FSS. Attendees were primarily individuals in the private and state government sectors who are engaged consumers of federal data products. A high-level summary of the meeting outcomes is available here.

A third meeting occurred on October 21. The meeting’s objective was to introduce and receive feedback from a range of stakeholders (listed here) on selected initial recommendations in the project’s emerging strategy. The previewed recommendations did not reflect the full scope of anticipated recommendations; the subset discussed were actions that align particularly closely with current policy priorities. Meeting participants also discussed ways to engage with decision makers within the Administration and Congress, media, higher education, and foundations to establish support for and enact project recommendations. A high-level summary of the meeting outcomes is available here.

In addition to the meetings, project team members held individual discussions with current FSS and policy leaders to solicit their input on modernization, including opportunities, structural barriers, and potential solutions.

Following the three meetings, the project team co-hosted a roundtable about FSS modernization with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The November 6, 2025, event was called “Federal Statistics For Economic Security.” Slides from the project team are available here.

Status as of January 2026

The team is grateful for the feedback received from participants to date, including reviewers of a preliminary version of our recommendations. The report, whose release is planned for the end of February, will build on these inputs, in order to contribute to ongoing, broader conversations and stimulate continued efforts to modernize the FSS.

For more information, contact ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson and stay tuned to this site for updates and calls for input as the project advances.

¹ The need for modernization of the federal statistical system, which includes 13 principal statistical agencies, the chief statistician’s office in the Office of Management and Budget, 100 other federal programs with significant statistical activities, and statistical officials in cabinet departments and free-standing agencies, is amply documented in reports of a companion ASA project. See Assessing and Monitoring the Health of the Federal Statistical Agencies.